Letter: Ocalan out

Sir: I am mystified by the comment in your leader of 15 December suggesting that it was a humiliation for Syria to force Abdullah Ocalan to leave. Even his admirers cannot deny that Ocalan was using his presence in Syria and his bases in the Bekaa valley to stage brutal armed attacks on a neighbouring country. Syria's willingness over the years to allow its territory to be used for this and other terrorist operations (including some aimed at targets in the UK) was the cause of its isolation. The removal of Ocalan and the PKK was a major step in the right direction and not something to be ashamed of.

OZDEM SANBERK

Ambassador

Turkish Embassy

London SW1